


How I Really Felt

by melanoradrood



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, FF.net to AO3, TVD Season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 13:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoradrood/pseuds/melanoradrood
Summary: During 4x14, Klaus and Caroline said a lot to each other with their eyes and their body language. This is what they were feeling. Eight Parts, Klaroline, Complete.





	1. Nope

**Author's Note:**

> Old fic from FF.net that needed to be on AO3.

She was not going to think about last night. Nor was she going to think about waking up in the Gilbert house. Klaus had saved her. That changed nothing. He was the one that had put her in danger in the first place. And now, she was helping her friends in the safety of the kitchen, even with Klaus watching her from the living room that imprisoned him.

“Tell me you’re not serious,” Caroline said, speaking to Elena, who was calling from the island. She didn’t understand how in the world this could have happened. Seriously, how do you just lose people on an island in the middle of nowhere? They were Vampires. 

She looked up towards Klaus while listening to Elena talk, and saw him looking at her, his cool facade back in place. 

“I wish I weren’t. When we got back from looking for Jeremy, Shane and Bonnie were both gone too. Shane needs Bonnie to cast the spell on Jeremy’s tattoo in order to find the cure, and he managed to sneak them both out from under our noses.”

If she hadn’t been a vampire, then she knew her head would be pounding with a headache. Even still, she felt a little weak still from the day before. She hadn’t told Elena what had happened, nor would she. Elena didn’t need to know, and it was already taken care of. They were busy enough on the island with their own drama.

“Well, where is Damon in all this?” Damon always tried to act like he was in charge, but here it was, a crisis, and he had nothing to really say?

“We had an argument. I thought he was just taking a walk, but then when we went to the beach, we saw signs of a struggle.” Seriously, an argument. And a struggle. Oh, for the love of God. They were supposed to be searching for the cure, not having highschool teen drama.

“Meaning what?” Damon was missing, and there was a struggle. Seriously, how many people were on this abandoned island? She kept wanting to look at Klaus, hoping to see if he had any ideas, but she couldn’t stand to look at him right now.

“Meaning somebody probably jumped him, and then grabbed him.”

Oh yes, she would definitely have a terrible headache right now. She rubbed her hand over her forehead, trying to rub out the phantom pain. “Do you think Shane took him?”

“No, I mean he’s not strong enough to take Damon on; even with the element of surprise, he must have someone, or at least a few someones helping him.”

“God, I’m so sorry, I wish I was there to help.” All Caroline wanted at that point was to go home, get out of her nasty clothes, and take a bath. This town was constant chaos. Why couldn’t they ever have a day off.

“Well, maybe there is something you can do from home.”

“Anything! Tell me.” She was glad to possibly help, but that also meant her bubble bath was probably going to fly out the window. 

“So Shane’s looking for the cure. We think we can find him. We have pictures of Jeremy’s tattoo, but we just can’t translate the map.”

“Unless you get the Hunter’s sword from Klaus.” Caroline rolled her head as she spoke, as if she knew all along that it was going to come back to Klaus. Why did they always leave her to handle him? Hadn’t she done enough on that front? It had almost cost her her life, and she had said things she never meant to.

She looked towards Klaus, who was still standing in the same spot leaning against the couch, and had a huge smirk on his face. He knew where this was going. 

“Exactly.”

Caroline could hear Rebekah pipe up in the background. “He’ll never give up the sword.” 

“Yeah, but if anyone’s gonna get him to give it up, it’s Caroline.” Caroline knew Stefan was right, but she really wanted to smack him for that comment. Seriously? How long were they going to keep using Klaus’s emotions against him? She had almost lost her life because they had trusted that he would never hurt her.

“He will never give up the sword, not even for Caroline. He’s terrified we’ll use the cure against him to make him mortal and even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t want any of us to derive a moment’s happiness from being human.” Caroline wasn’t so sure that was true. Yes, Klaus seemed to be against them finding the cure, but Rebekah seemed to have some serious hatred for her brother right now. They had just lost another brother. Why was she being so hateful?

“Well maybe he doesn’t have to give it up. I mean, Klaus is stuck in Elena’s house by Bonnie’s spell. He can’t go anywhere. There’s only so many places you can hide a three foot piece of metal.”

Seriously, Stefan. Seriously? Ugh. She pushed herself off from the counter and decided to just cut the conversation short and get started on finding the stupid sword. “I’ll find it. Don’t worry. Just email me photos of Jeremy’s tattoo. I’ll find the sword and I’ll call you back.” 

She looked over at Klaus, who was still staring at her. Why did he always have to have that stupid mask across his face? 

“Thank you, Caroline.” Elena actually sounded thankful and genuine, which was a bit of a surprise. This girl had been her best friend a few years ago, but sometimes she wondered how much they actually cared anymore. Their lives were all so crazy.

“Bye,” she sighed out, then hung up and stared at her phone, trying to not look at Klaus.

But Klaus was still looking at her, and had obviously heard the entire conversation. He could already see that Caroline was reverting back to the careful mask she wore around others, being the strong Miss Mystic Falls that actually got things done. Chaos was erupting on the island and they needed her help, and she was taking care of business even after almost dying the previous night. Oh yes, this woman was the one he wanted.

She still looked beautiful, even in her bloody clothes. Her golden locks were flawless and there were no signs of dried tears on her face. She always looked beautiful to him, but as her mind went to work, he could see wisdom hidden behind her features as well. Not that he ever doubted her, but it was so lovely to see that she wasn’t just a pretty face.

“Need my help with anything, love?” If she asked him, he would gladly tell her where the sword was. He needed that cure found, and fast, before whoever else was on the island got to it first.

Caroline was already out the door, however, and marched by, confident as ever. She wasn't going to play this game with him. She had to go find Tyler, then go find the sword, and get to work on translating the tattoo. Why hadn’t anyone thought to figure it out before they left? Of course, everything was falling to her, and she would get no credit, as per normal. “Nope!”

Klaus watched her walk out the door, then glanced away, almost rolling his eyes. That was his girl. Confident and independent as ever. But, he knew the markings on that sword. She would be back. And he, of course, would be waiting.


	2. If Only You Spoke Aramaic

After collecting Tyler and going to the Mikaelson Mansion, and of course stopping for a shower and change of clothes, Caroline was ready to get to work. She knew, however, that they had to have Klaus’ help. She was certain that everyone else would call her crazy for going back to the Gilbert house, but there was two rooms to that living room, and Klaus was stuck in only one of them. He could easily redeem himself in her eyes by helping out.

She walked into the house first with her laptop and papers in hand, ready to get to work on finding this cure. She wanted to just go home to a bubble bath and her bed, but her friends needed her to figure this out, and honestly, if she left it to Tyler and Klaus, nothing would get done. If she wanted to get this done, she had to do it herself.

Tyler walked in behind her with that stupid sword in hand. He had found it in the attic, of all places. Caroline had been nervous to start looking through Klaus’ things. Who knew what in all was there. More drawings? That bracelet? She didn’t really want to find out.

When she looked into the living room to look for Klaus, she wasn’t even surprised to see that cocky smirk on his face. He seemed to wear it as much as she wore her hair in curls. And of course, he just seemed so excited to see her and Tyler walking in together.

“Well, if it isn’t Little Orphan Lockwood. Come to show how laughably impotent you are against me?” 

Caroline wanted to smack him. Impotent? Well, he had said wrong equipment, after all, but Tyler wasn’t bad in bed. Of course, the man would know, given how he had been in both bodies. No, Caroline, ignore him. This was a boy’s fight. She knew that they had to whip them out and measure before anything could really get done.

Klaus, on the other hand, was barely keeping it together, for numerous reasons. Impotent. It almost sounded like something Kol would say. Kol... Poor Kol. And she was back with the Lockwood mutt. He could only imagine what she had said to him. He wanted to rip the boy’s head off and show Caroline just how much of an Alpha he truly was.

“I’m just trying to help my friends find the cure.” Klaus didn’t care what Tyler wanted. Caroline looked delicious in that dress with her long legs exposed for him. Did she know how much he loved seeing those long legs? And now she was sitting on the couch, far away from him, watching her beloved pup. “Found this in your attic.”

Well, when Klaus had been hiding it, he had been hiding it from Stefan. Stefan would have assumed he would never hide it somewhere so obvious. Tyler, with his lacking intelligence, would likely only think to look under the bed and in the attic before giving up.

“And you think finding the sword brings you closer to the cure.” Seriously, the boy knew nothing. While his impotence was laughing, his intelligence level was not. It was pathetic. What was Caroline doing with this boy? She was so above him.

“You tell me. I was playing around with the handle on the ride over, and I found this.” Klaus watched Tyler pull the cloth off of the hilt, revealing the puzzle beneath. A puzzle they would never be able to solve. He had tried, over the centuries, but it was impossible without the tattoo. Now, however, he was ready to get the answers he seeked.

He rose up from where he had been sitting on the coffee table, the same place he had been sitting the night before when he spoke to Caroline, and walked over to the doorway. He couldn’t come through the barrier, but he could certainly get closer and perhaps intimidate the runt a little. 

“And what do you think  _ this _ is?” The boy had no clue. The dropped look on his face told him that, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Caroline coming to the rescue. He wasn’t even surprised that she would know. SHE was brilliant. So much more than beauty. Truly worthy of being a Queen.

Caroline was done watching their little battle. Klaus was a thousand years older, and yet somehow, he so easily became a teenage boy in his taunts. Of course Tyler didn’t know what it was. And of course Klaus would know. She almost just wanted to throw them in a pit and let them fight it out with the only rule being no death. 

“It’s called a cryptext.” Tyler immediately turned and looked at her in shock, and she wanted to smack him. Seriously? She was far smarter than most people gave her credit for. And he was her own boyfriend and was shocked at her brilliance. “I’ve seen The Davinci Code.”

There was nothing Klaus could say to her that would rub salt in the wound of her pride that would top the look that was on Tyler’s face. And now, she had to explain to her boyfriend what a cryptext was. She was a whole new level of brilliance. 

“You turn the different sides to the different symbols to get the translation on the other side.”

Klaus could have kissed her for how sharp she was. And she was now acting as though it was nothing. He didn’t know anyone else that would actually know what a cryptext was. And she knew how to use it. The light shining from her dimmed slightly when Tyler had stared at her in shock, but when she spit back her little remark about some Davinci movie, it had flared up again. So beautiful... 

Caroline was walking back to the couch and opening up her laptop while grabbing the photos she had printed off before heading here. “And, with the magic of the internet, Elena sent over these.” 

Caroline held up the images towards the boys, who were both looking at her now. God, as if the triangle with Elena and the Salvatores wasn’t bad enough, now she was dealing with two hybrids. How did she get into this situation? And why did they have to act like such children. When did she become the grown up?

“So now all we have to do is cryptext away.” She sat down onto the couch and looked up at Klaus, who was still eyeing her, and ignored Tyler for a moment. It would be so much easier to get this done if Tyler wasn’t here. Why had she grabbed him again? Oh right, to search the Mikaelson Mansion.

“If you happen to want to help-” she sounded too perky. Too happy. Tyler was watching her talk to Klaus, and she was talking to him like a friend, not the enemy. But, Klaus was Tyler’s enemy. Not hers. She still changed her expression. “We wouldn’t stop you.”

But Klaus knew there was a little something to the cryptext that Caroline hadn’t discovered yet, and Tyler was too stupid to realize the importance of. Oh yes, they were in for quite a rude surprise, and he let his smirk grow some, watching them as they planned to solve this in so short of time.

“Right, well, might I suggest using the magic of the internet to purchase an Aramaic to English dictionary from your nearest retailer.” 

Tyler looked at him, confused, but Caroline’s face fell. Oh yes, that was his smart girl. She knew what aramaic was. She understood how serious the situation had suddenly become. And, she probably just realized that the language itself was older than him.

“What’s Aramaic?” 

Klaus wanted to yell at the boy to shut up while his Elders were talking. Did he not understand that he was the weak link of the group? He didn’t even know what they were dealing with on the hilt of the sword. He had been so right when he said smalltown boy... he was holding Caroline back from greatness.

“It’s a dead language. It hasn’t been used since like, biblical times.” A dead language. Seriously? What was she supposed to do now. She had her football boyfriend and a Viking to help her figure out a two thousand year old language. Seriously, why had she agreed to do this again?

“Qetsiyah’s native tongue, I’m guessing.”

And the cocky bastard had known. Why had he even bothered hiding the sword to begin with. Ugh! He was so... infuriating! She looked back at her computer, furious, and half contemplated whether or not she was going to even bother calling Elena to tell her it was impossible.

“You know, even if you had the best dictionary in the world, it could take days to translate.” She was going to kill him. Yes, he couldn’t actually die, but it would be interesting to see what happened if she burned the house down around him. Or maybe she would just spray vervain water at him. Like, seriously. 

“Perhaps weeks.” Klaus could see how frustrated Caroline was. Oh yes, he was enjoying this. She just had no idea of anything about him and what he could do. Even locked in this room, he was controlling the situation.

“In basso tien too ara-ma-eet.”

No. That bastard did not just. Oh my god. Seriously. Seriously?! He had to be kidding her. After all that, seriously. Seriously. She was going to kill Klaus.

“What does that mean?”

Klaus was looking down towards the ground, trying to keep from grinning. Oh, she was good. She already knew the secret before she even asked. All he had to do now was confirm it to her. Oh yes, he was still the Alpha Male, even after being locked in a room for half a week.

“If only you spoke-” his eyes flicked up to meet Caroline, who was staring right at him. “-Aramaic.”

Caroline rolled her eyes and looked upward to heaven, praying for help in dealing with the Devil.


	3. Caroline, Bring My Sword Over Here

Finally, she was getting somewhere. If she hadn’t always been so organized and studious, what had taken a few hours would have instead taken all day. There were notecards all over the table with various aramaic symbols and the translation. She had figured out all of the symbols that went on the tattoo itself, and now she just had to translate that before working on the sword.

“Okay. This is it. We’ve translated all the symbols on the tattoo.”

What she should say is that she had translated all of the symbols on the tattoo, while Tyler and Klaus continued to glare at each other. She looked back at the picture on the laptop of Jeremy’s hand, then looked at the cards in her hands.

“Passage inside... requires, a young senator, and a pretty flower.”

Seriously? She threw the cards down on the table, annoyed. This was going to take all year at this rate. “Ok, none of this makes sense!”

“Nazim she-da ashinkta usaida jogunche.” 

Klaus was finally helping, and she wanted to smack him. All she could do was stare at the sword. Seriously, now he wants to help, after all that work? How useful of him.

“Requires a powerful witch and a hunter in full bloom,” he translated, then smiled a little bit at Caroline. Once again, he proved how useful he was, and how the two of them were the only ones actually getting anything done. With no sirebond, Tyler was nothing. He was hired muscle that refused to work. Oh, he was going to put him in his place once he got out of here.

“What are you doing?” asked Tyler, leaning towards him.

“I don’t need to tell you my reasons.”

Klaus then looked towards Caroline, who was still studying that sword. In the meantime, however, he could easily make fun of his former creation. Oh yes, Stefan had given him quite the idea earlier, talking about hidden... swords.

“Caroline.” 

She looked up at him with those big blue eyes from the sword she was studying, and centered her eyes on him. He almost wanted to take a deep breath, her beauty was so mesmerizing. She had been working with all her conversation caught on one thing. He had seen her twirl her hair a little at some points, and biting on her lip. He wish he had some paper, just to capture that moment. He was storing up a plethora of moments to draw once he was back home.

“Bring my sword over here.”

The look on their faces was priceless. Tyler’s mind was clearly always filled with sex. The pup was still a teenager after all, and clearly understood the hint that Klaus was giving, but Caroline’s face gave more of the idea that she wasn’t sure whether or not he was serious. She still pushed herself up with no fear on her face, and Klaus had to admire that.

Just the previous evening, she had been dying from his hybrid bite, and yet here she was, in between two hybrids, one of whom was an Original, and she was showing no fear. No, she was standing up between them when their egos flared up. Every time he saw her, Caroline was surprising him more. Not that he should be surprised at her fearless behavior.

“Silas rests on the far side; the means of his destruction at hand.”

Caroline looked down at the sword to see what Klaus was talking about, then back up at Klaus, but his eyes were off towards the computer. Jeremy’s tattoo. He was translating it. After all that hard work, and he was translating it after a few second’s glance. What a stupid... man! He was such a man! A thousand years old and... Ugh! Seriously?

“Turn the Cryptext to the right.” Alright, whatever. Klaus was helping now at least, unlike Tyler. She did as told. “Stop. The top of the hilt reveals the key to a nautical map. Turn it to the left.”

It was a pity she couldn’t trust him with the sword, but she did as he said, and waited. 

“Now turn the other piece.” 

She turned the last piece, then looked down at the swirling lines that had appeared. They looked no different to her than any of the others, so she looked up at Klaus, waiting for him to say something. Clearly, he had figured it all out, and now knew the answers, and it made her feel stupid. Of course Klaus knew everything. When didn’t he? No wonder his ego was so big.

“There’s something else.” 

Of course there was. When wasn’t there something else. This was Mystic Falls. They were Vampires. The original family and the doppleganger lived here. There was ALWAYS something else. 

“Basim basiles bihadar, icht des baderman.”

Klaus looked up at her with a smile on his face, and she stared at him, waiting for him to translate. He said nothing for a moment, so she asked. “What does it mean?”

Klaus’s smile went bigger, and she was really getting frustrated with him. Seriously? What a tease. Couldn’t he just tell her already. There was nothing else he could tell her that would be really surprising at this point. But no, of course he wouldn’t give it up without more prodding.

“Klaus, what does it mean?”

All Klaus could think, as he stood there, was,  _ ‘Well, this certainly changes things.’ _


	4. There’s Only One Dose Of The Cure

Caroline sat on the sofa calling Rebekah’s phone. It seemed to be the only one that really had service. Tyler was beside her, emailing the details all to the phone. She was glad this was all finally done so that she could go break into the Salvatore house and have a shower. The vervain in the town water supply had made her quick rinse earlier become a sponge bath from water bottles, and she wanted a real proper hot shower at this point. 

The phone was answered and she heard Rebekah’s voice on the other side. “Hello?”

Of COURSE it was Klaus’ sister that answer the phone. Go figure. It was like she would never be rid of the Mikaelsons. And, Klaus had been acting odd since he had read out the last part. She didn’t believe him in what he had said the translation was, and now he was pacing back and forth. Whatever, maybe now he would finally talk. He was SO not getting a charged cell phone that he could just text Rebekah from.

“Hey, it’s Caroline. We have the translation of the tattoo. We’re emailing you pictures of the map and instructions right now.”

She takes a glance at the laptop and sees that they have been sent and she waits to hear from Rebekah. After a few moments of waiting, and taking a glance at Klaus to see him still pacing, she hears Rebekah’s response.

“Got it, thanks.”

Caroline is ready to hang up the phone, but then he speaks. Of course he speaks. It’s like he lives to destroy her plans.

“Actually, it was me.” 

Caroline looked up from the phone to Klaus, who had a huge grin on his face. He was still pacing, but it was as though she could see a little more brightness in his eyes as he spoke to his sister. His only sister. And one of only two living siblings. He was an immortal being with only his family, and now even they were dying off.

“Nik, you helped?”

“You sound so surprised, little sister.”

Caroline had been thinking about that for a little bit. She had come to the Gilbert house, expecting him to help, but had still been surprised when he did. Had he helped because he wanted to impress Caroline, or to insult Tyler, or had he been doing it for another reason. She wished she could see behind that mask he had up now. 

“Shouldn’t I be?” Rebekah scoffed on the other end of the line, then continued. “You don’t want me to be human, you don’t want any of us to be human, why would you help us find the cure?”

Always and Forever. That had been their promise to each other. And now, Rebekah wanted to end Forever. He would only have 50 or 60 more years with his little sister if he was lucky. But, if he didn’t help her, she might never forgive him. She would run off with their friend and leave him behind. No family... No hybrids...

“Maybe I finally realized the longer I stand in the way of what you want, the longer you’ll continue to hate me. Perhaps I want my sister to finally know happiness.” He looked up towards the phone and stopped in his steps, smiling. Happiness. If any of his siblings deserved it, it was his little sister. How many times had she lost love because of their existence. Because of their father. If he couldn’t be happy, perhaps she could.

Rebekah didn’t seem to buy it. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a hundred times...”

Now he was getting a little angry. He had been spending the entire morning after saving Caroline’s life watching Caroline and Tyler sit together on the couch, and all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms again. He had no more patience for the peasant boy, and that meant his patience for his little sister was shortened significantly.

“No more fooling. No more games.” He took a pause between each statement. “I hope you get to live, and die, as you wish.”

Rebekah said nothing and he wanted to take in a breath and hold it. No, what was wrong with him. Breathing was a waste of time. What a human response.

“So do I.”

Caroline looked down at the phone, wanting to almost give Klaus a bit of privacy. He had finally made a little peace with Rebekah. Possibly the last peace he could, if either of them took the cure. She was happy for him. She couldn’t help but wonder how it had ended with Kol. Finn? Henrik? What were the last words he had said to Elijah? She still could never forget saying goodbye to her father.

“There is, one more thing, Rebekah.” She looked at Tyler, who was also looking at her, and then saw him look to Klaus. She couldn’t turn to look at him. She was waiting on edge to know what that last inscription had said. It was obviously somewhat important, given he had lied to her about it.

“There is only one dose of the cure.” 

Oh my god. Oh my god. Seriously? She reached over to grab the phone to hang it up as quickly as possible with Tyler scrambling to grab it too. There was only one? One cure? Elena. Stefan. Rebekah. Klaus for Tyler. There was only one. And now Rebekah knew. Had Elena and Stefan close enough to hear that? 

“You need to find it first and take it; it’s the only way your-” 

The phone was cut off, and Klaus grinned at the two of them as they looked at him in shock. He shrugged his shoulders and held up his hands, almost trying to tell him he was sorry, but really, he was elated. He got out the words before they knew what was going on. And now Rebekah knew. She could take the cure, have a few years of life, and then he could turn her again. Everything was falling into place.

One cure. There was just one. And Caroline didn’t really know how to feel about that.


	5. Let Me Fix This

Caroline still had no idea what to say. There was only one Cure. And now, Tyler was freaking out. Right, because now he couldn’t give Klaus the cure and kill him. This meant Tyler had no real game plan. Well, maybe he should have listened to her when she had told him to come home. Why was it that Tyler only ever had one plan that wasn’t fully formed and seemed to come crashing down so easily.

“Every time I think I have him, that son of a bitch gets the upper hand.” They were standing on the front porch now, but it wasn’t like Klaus couldn’t still hear him. She knew that the man was probably listening, waiting to hear what Caroline would do next. But the thing was, Caroline didn’t even really know what to say.

“We won’t let him hurt you. Stefan and Elena will bring back the cure.” 

She knew that was a lie. Stefan and Elena probably didn’t know. And even if it did, their main concern was Elena getting it. There was no way the cure would make it all the way back to Mystic Falls and to Klaus. Perhaps that was what was keeping her so calm.

“If they get to it first. And if they don’t, Klaus kills me.“

She was a horrible girlfriend. And a horrible person. All she could think was this was why their old plan was a bad idea. Klaus had been leaving Tyler alone, free to roam Mystic Falls, and then Tyler had tried to kill him, again. And then, when there was a small chance of Tyler being victorious over the man they had imprisoned in one room, he had rubbed it in the other man’s face. 

“I need to get out of town and figure out how I’m gonna stay alive-”

Seriously, was that the only thing he could think about? Getting out and staying alive? Katherine had done it for 500 years, and she had been his number one concern at the time. This time, Klaus was pretty much wanting to kill all of them. While Tyler had turned the hybrids, Elena and Jeremy had killed Kol. Why did no one in this town think about people other than themselves?!

She grabbed Tyler by his shoulders and forced him to look at her and to take a breathe.“Wait, hang on, ok, gosh! Just, before you get all doomsday, just...”

She forced herself to take a deep breath in and out. A human reaction, yes, but still soothing. Tyler seemed to relax a little with her breath, and she stared at her boyfriend, directly into his eyes. He had to relax in order to plan. Hasty decisions hadn’t ended up well for anyone.

“At least, let me, try and talk to him.”

“He’s got nothing to lose, Care. His brother‘s dead, his hybrids are gone; all he wants right now is blood, starting with mine.” 

He was leaning in towards her while he spoke. She was certain that he could hear her undead heart racing. He did have something left to lose. He had her. After last night, Klaus still had a chance of being with her. But Tyler couldn’t know that. She couldn’t tell him that. 

“I’m not gonna say goodbye to you again, do you understand me?”

Caroline felt heartbroken as she spoke the words. There was no way she could convince Klaus to let Tyler stay. But she could ask him to let Tyler live. Tyler could go off and live away from her, and she would stay here. Klaus would let Tyler have a full life if she stayed. There was a chance. 

“Let me fix this.” She let her fingers brush over the side of Tyler’s neck and face, knowing this would be one of the last possibly times she would be touching her boyfriend. There was no way Klaus would let him get the happy ending that he himself couldn’t have. But she had to do something.


	6. We’re The Same

She had sat outside with Tyler until it became dark out. She knew that she had to go inside and try to talk to Klaus. There was no more putting it off. She knew that he had heard the entire conversation, and likely by now, he had made a decision about Tyler. Nothing she could say would change that, but she had hope.

She walked inside and shut the door behind her, then walked straight up to the barrier, trying to show no fear. He was sitting inside of the living room with a lamp on above him, looking rather... regal... in the arm chair. He was looking at her, as though he had been expecting her. Somehow, it felt like the Godfather, but comparing Klaus to Al Pacino felt like an insult to the Hybrid. He was a whole new level of class and mystery.

On the outside, Klaus was perfectly calm, but on the inside, a storm was raging. Caroline was coming in to barter for Tyler’s life. His mutt. The mutt that had tried to kill him, time and again. And how many times had he tried to kill Tyler? He hadn’t. Oh yes, he had killed the hybrids and Carol Lockwood, but that was only after the latest attempt on his life. And now, Caroline was once again protecting Tyler.

“You can’t kill Tyler.”

She knew how wrong it was to ask this of Klaus. She knew that she had no right to use his feelings for her against him. But she had to ask. She saw the good in everyone, and that meant that everyone had to be saved. She couldn’t just stand by and watch someone die. Regardless of who it was and the reasons for it.

Klaus stared back at her and she held her breath, waiting to hear his verdict. 

“Not only can I, I have to. I have a reputation to uphold.” 

He was simply stating a fact. Someone had tried to kill them numerous times and he was just going to let them live? No. He had to cut them down along with their entire family. Well, he had already done that. Now all that was left was the Mutt himself. And he let a little smirk slip onto his face as he finished his thought, getting rather comfortable, knowing he was going to get blood soon.

“Moreover, I want to.” 

How could he be so calm? Caroline was trying to appear calm as well, but she was scared. So very scared. She was here, at the barrier, facing Klaus. The last time she had been so close to him, he had impaled her on a pole and bit into her. Even earlier in the day, she had stayed back a few steps, not wanting to risk her life again.

“I’m not asking you to forgive him. All I’m asking, is that you let him live, somewhere far from here.” 

Caroline was staring him down, showing no fear. He liked that about her. Even when she should be scared beyond all belief and running, she stood her ground. She wasn’t looking for other people to get her out of her problems either. No, Caroline faced it head on. Truly, she was the strongest woman he had ever met. She would go far in the Supernatural world.

He pushed himself up out of the chair and walked towards her, then began to speak as he moved closer. “So he gets to live a happy life, after he turned all my hybrids against me. After he tried to kill me. After he made it his life’s mission to find the cure so he could use it against me.” 

He almost couldn’t believe her request. Even with as strong as she was and as brilliant as she could be, this was the wrong time for her to stand her ground. There was no way she could ever save Tyler. His fate had been marked long before his imprisonment, and he should have run when he had the chance. 

Caroline cut him off from saying anymore as he stood at the barrier, so close to her, and yet still somehow so far away. “We all want the cure.”

“Do we?”

Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but wasn’t sure of what to say. No one had actually asked her about it. If someone had asked her when she was first turned, she would have said yes. Now, though...

“Do you?” 

His undead heart was asking as he waited for her response. Did she want to end it all? He was going to live forever, so he had forever to win her affection and to show her he was worthy of her trying to save. But if she had given up and didn’t want to be a vampire anymore... 

Caroline looked away from him, and he knew that he had hit the mark. She didn’t want it. Caroline LIKED being a Vampire. His face remained calm. He had to hear her say it. He needed more than his own twisted reading on the situation.

“It doesn’t matter. There’s only one, so it’s not like I’m gonna get it anyway.” She almost felt like laughing as she spoke, but looked away from him, unable to look him in the eyes as she spoke. How could she admit to the most powerful man in the world that she actually liked being a Vampire. How could she actually admit out loud that she didn’t want to be human?

“But if you could.” 

She looked up at him as he spoke and could see that the smirk was gone. There was no mask there. All that was left was a man. A man that loved her. A man that would live forever. A man that would live forever alone. And he was asking her, the woman that he loved, if she wanted to live forever too. She stared right back at him, unable to voice that she wanted to live forever.

“You wouldn’t. Would you.”

His undead heart was racing. She actually wanted to be a Vampire. He couldn’t help the little smile that crept onto his face as he looked down at her, and she seemed to shift a little, knowing that he understood her so well. Oh yes, she understood everything about him, it seemed, and he knew so much more about her than anyone else in this town even realized.

“You prefer who you are now to the girl you once were.” 

He felt even his eyes light up as he looked down at her, his beautiful angel, the first light to come into the darkness. “You like being strong... Ageless... Fearless...”

He took a step towards her and he wished the barrier was gone. He wanted to kiss her, to take her in his arms, to make her understand that he understood her. That he saw her. The real her. To her friends, she was, what had Stefan said she called it, the “neurotic control freak”, and towards him, the “little blonde distraction”. But to Klaus, she was the light in the darkness. The happiness in the emptiness. The fellow soul in the lonely world.

“We’re the same, Caroline.”

_ “All day, I’ve been trying to remind myself of all the horrible things he’s done.” _

_ “See, that’s the thing. We’ve all done horrible things, and I’m sitting here, trying to figure out what makes us any better than him.” _

Caroline stared at him for a moment, thinking back to that night, only a few weeks before, when she and Stefan had discussed Klaus. Yes, he had a lot of blood on his hands. He was also a thousand years old. He had been chased down by his abusive father for centuries. Everyone had betrayed him. He was alone. 

She had been alone when she turned. And she had killed someone. Would she have been like him, if no one had helped her get control of it? If she had been alone in the months since her turning.

She had said the night before that he could be saved. And she truly believed it. “Then show me.”

Klaus stared down at her, waiting to hear what she had to say next. He was almost scared to hear her speak. And after the first sentence, it took all of his strength to just stand there with the mask on his face. He couldn’t move. If he had been human, he wouldn’t even breathe.

“You know how much I love Tyler. You can see how scared I am to lose him,” she was saying, but all he could hear were those first words. He had heard her say it before, but never had it stung like this. She loved Tyler. “If you and I are so similar, then show me your compassion.” 

Klaus just stared down at her, not moving. She had told him the day before that she knew he was in love with her. She hadn’t said that he loved her. No, she had used the words in love. And today, she was saying she loved Tyler. Not that she was in love with him. And even still, she chose Tyler. She was standing here, the brave one, the passionate one, the one so full of life, begging for him to spare Tyler.

“Show him the mercy that I would show you.” 

The words were ringing in his ears, and he had to swallow down how sick he felt. He wanted to rip Tyler to shreds for using Caroline against him so many times. No, not for using her, but for willingly putting her in danger. Caroline was standing here, risking her life again for that mutt, while the boy hid on the front porch. It made him sick. 

“Mercy.” The word felt foreign on his lips, and he forced himself to continue. “For Tyler.”

She stared up at him, waiting to hear his verdict. Klaus’ face, which had formerly seemed so vulnerable and sad, had returned to having a hardened shell for a moment, but it was gone again so quickly. Now he just looked... sad. She could read it in his eyes. And she hated herself for putting that there.

“Very well. Tell him to leave town immediately.”

Klaus had to turn away from her. He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t bear to see the happiness spread across her face. He didn’t want to see the light that was shining through... for Tyler. 

He turned back towards her again, and forced out, “And tell him to run, and hide in a place I will never find him.”

Caroline couldn’t believe it. Klaus was going to let Tyler live. Tyler could be free of this place, and never return. He could see the world, and one day perhaps, she could join him. Klaus was actually going to let him live.

“Of course.” A smile spread across her face, and she felt complete relief. She turned away from him and let out the breath she was holding in, then went to the couch to grab her jacket. She knew that Klaus was behind her watching, and she had to resist the urge to look back again. She could hear him approaching the barrier.

“Tell him that this is the mercy I extend for your sake.”

He sounded hurt, but she didn’t turn back towards him, just getting her jacket on, ready to get out of the Gilbert house. Everything would actually be ok.

“That I will give him a head start, before I kill him.”

Her entire body went cold and she turned to look at Klaus, who had a little smirk on his face. He was never going to let Tyler live. Katherine had been the only one to ever live, and she was far smarter than Tyler at hiding. Tyler would want to challenge Klaus again, and then he would die. The boy she loved would die at the hand of the man in love with her. She should have known.


	7. What If We Don’t?

Caroline didn’t know how much Tyler had heard of the conversation inside, but she couldn’t tell Tyler that Klaus was going to tell him. All she said was that he was showing him some mercy, and that he needed to run and hide, and to never return to Mystic Falls. Tyler had just nodded and joined her on the swing they were now sitting on.

She couldn’t even look at him while she sniffed a little, trying to hold back tears. Her entire body felt numb, but she knew that she had to speak. “How many times are we gonna have to say good bye?”

She tried to turn her body towards his more, but it hurt to even be around him. To know that this was the end. That this was their final goodbye. If she ever saw him again, it would likely be moments before his death. 

“At least this time we have a minute to do it the right way.” 

Caroline started crying then. He didn’t remember their last goodbye. When it had been Klaus in his body. He had never said goodbye when he went to break the sire-bond, instead just abandoning Caroline. And when he had left with Jules, she had known nothing. This, though. This time there was no coming back. It was like he was dying all over again.

“There isn’t a right way.” 

She felt his hand slip into hers and grip it, and she looked up at him. She felt like her world was ending, but Tyler was calm, as if he didn’t realize that this was over. This was all over for them. 

“This isn’t goodbye. This is, until we find a way. We’re immortal.” Poor Tyler. He truly thought there was a chance. That he could escape, and defeat, the Original Hybrid. “Remember?”

She nodded to herself, not speaking, and looking at his hand holding her. She couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t tell him that there was no way. That there was no future. Even with immortality. 

“We will find a way.”

It was destroying her, keeping silent while he spoke, and she forced herself to whisper out, “What if we don’t?”

Tyler didn’t say anything, and she knew then that it was starting to dawn on him that there was no hope. The only thing that could have saved him would have been the Cure, and that was gone now. Nothing else would destroy Klaus, and the man was still hunting Katherine after 500 years. He wouldn’t just drop Tyler’s betrayal.

“Tell me that you’ll never think of me again. Tell me that you’ll forget about me, tell me that you’re gonna go on and live a full and happy life without me.”

It pained her to speak, but she did it anyway. He had to say the words. He had to say them, and believe them. He had to make her believe them too. He had to go, and live, away from her, until Klaus killed him. 

Tyler looked away from her for a moment, then looked back. “I will live a happy life without you.” 

She nodded and tried to not cry, but it was hard as he spoke again. 

“I will forget all about you.” 

Caroline could feel her lip trembling, waiting for him to finish his statement.

“And I will never, ever think about you again.”

She broke down crying, wishing that things could change. Wishing that she could save him. Wishing that she never had to feel the pain of loss again. She could feel Tyler’s arm wrap around her and she let him kiss her, then gripped onto his arm and face, savoring their last few kisses. They both pulled away, and she gave another sniff.

“Until we find a way?” 

She knew she was lying to herself, but she had to say it. There was no way. There was just this. An ending. An ending of her life with Tyler. 

Tyler nodded then gave her a little smile. She felt his lips touch her forehead in a final kiss good bye, and then he was up off the swing, walking away. Caroline sat there, crying, watching him walk out of her life. Forever.


	8. It Was All For You

Her tears had finally run out, and now she was just sitting on the swing, alone. Everyone would be back in a few days, likely with the cure having already been consumed, and then life would return to centering around Elena. No one would ask her about what happened here at home, and they likely wouldn’t even notice Tyler was gone. And in these few moments of peace, she had never felt so alone. Tyler was gone. The only person left that cared about her was the man locked inside that was plotting her former boyfriend’s death.

She heard the door open and close, and she looked up, registering that no one should be walking out of the house. She saw Klaus standing there, and forced herself to speak. “How did you get out?”

“I fear something awful has befallen your friend Bonnie.”

Either Bonnie couldn’t hold the spell any longer... or she was dead. As if the night couldn’t get any worse... and then Klaus took a step towards her. She immediately pushed herself out of the swing, ready to run, knowing there was no where she could hide from him. His hands raised up, as if signifying she was safe, but she didn’t know if she could trust him.

The fact that there was fear written across her face burned Klaus. He had put that fear there. Never before had she shown any sort of fear around him. Even earlier, standing so close to the barrier, she had been strong. And now that he was released, she was scared of him. He did this.

“Dont worry, love. You know I’d never hurt you.” He tried to smile, as if to reassure her, but Caroline looked too exhausted to really care.

“You’ve done enough.” 

“I’ve done more than enough.” Why couldn’t she see that? Why couldn’t she see what he had done? “I’ve shown kindness, forgiveness, pity.”

Kindness... He had drawn her, and thanked her for her honesty. He called her beautiful. He danced with her. He took her to the Miss Mystic Pageant. He had given a painting to the Winter Wonderland. He had saved her from Alaric. He had smiled, and laughed, for her.

Forgiveness... She could still remember all of their terrible attempts at killing him. He had only just escaped their latest attempt. Time and again, they had tried to kill him. They had killed members of his family. They had even dessicated him. And yet, they still lived. He forgave them all, time and again, when they betrayed him.

Pity... 

_ “Are you going to kill me?” _

_ He looked so hurt that she had said the words... “On your birthday? Do you really think that low of me?” _

_ He was big bad Klaus. She was dying. She wasn’t going to beg. “Yes.” _

_ Klaus had looked down at her bite after pulling back the covers, scaring her a little. “Ahh, that looks bad. My apologies, you are what’s known as collateral damage, it’s nothing personal.” _

_ She had been collateral damage to Katherine when she was killed to send the Salvatores a message. And now she was being used by Klaus to get something, she was sure.  _

_ He had touched the bracelet Tyler had given her, and smiled. “I love birthdays.” _

_ “Yeah, aren’t you like, a billion or something?” _

_ A real smile had spread across his face, one that she knew now was rarely ever shown, and always for her. “You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline. Celebrate the fact that you’re no longer bound by trivial human conventions. You’re free.” _

_ Free... what a silly word. She felt far from free. All she felt... was trapped.  _

_ “No...” She then looked up at him, and it was the first time their eyes had really connected. “I’m dying.” _

_ He sat down on her bed then, and got close to her. She had realized, in those next few moments, that something had changed. She had heard him downstairs. He had fully come here with the intention of saving her, being the hero, and then leaving. And instead, he was sitting here, talking to her. Asking her what she wanted. _

_ “And I could let you, die, if that’s what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning. I’ve thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries, truth be told. But “I’ll let you in on a little secret : there’s a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities, and art, and music. Genuine beauty. And you could have all of it. You could have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask...” _

She looked away from him, unable to handle it all. How could he even stand to look at her? She had just been begging him for her boyfriend’s life, knowing that he was in love with her, and using that to get what she wanted. She was disgusted with herself. She was as bad as Katherine.

“Because of you, Caroline.”

She looked up at him, and saw the softness in his face. He was vulnerable. He was putting himself out there. He was confirming what she had stated the night before. She saw the longing and the loneliness in his eyes, and her heart shattered all over again. If she had any more tears left to shed, she would cry for him now.

“It was all for you.”

She said nothing. What could she possibly say to that? That she knew? How terrible of a person would that make her be. She could see that he was waiting for her to say something, anything, but for once, Caroline Forbes was speechless. She had known, and yet, to hear it said out loud...

Klaus waited, wanting to hear her say something. She had to know. How could she not know? He had done so much for her, just hoping for her to take a chance with him. He had let his walls down, and it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough. Even after saving her life so many times, after giving her his attention and trying to woo her, he still wasn’t enough. Once again, Niklaus Mikaelson wasn’t enough.

And it hurt. It ripped his entire heart and soul out. He blinked and glanced away from her, then looked back and let out a scoff, then turned away and walked from Caroline. He wouldn’t let her see him break down. He wouldn’t let her see him like this. He had laid all the cards on the table, and now it was in her hands.

Caroline stood there, watching him leave. And she couldn’t help but wonder, why had she remained quiet?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arguably, there is a follow up to this, called Only For You, but that's up to you to decide. Either way, it will be posted up tomorrow, with a Klarolijah smutfic going up after that. Keep your eyes open for them both!
> 
> As always, find me on tumblr, at melanoradrood.tumblr.com


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